'Protecting those in power': Netizens slam ANI for deleting tweet showing rats in UP hospital
New Delhi: News Agency Asian News International (ANI) reportedly removed a video from its official X (formerly Twitter) handle that showed rats roaming freely inside a patient ward of a government hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, triggering criticism from social media users.
The now-deleted video allegedly showed rats moving around inside the orthopaedic ward of Gonda Medical College.
Fact Checker and Journalist, Mohammed Zubair questioned the ANI Editor Smita Prakash on why the tweet was deleted and a clarification of the Superintendent of the hospital was posted instead.
In a post on ‘X,’ he wrote, “Hello @smitaprakash, Why did your News agency delete the tweet showing Rats roaming around inside a patient ward in Govt hospital in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh? You instead shared a clarification by Superintendent of the hospital.” (SIC)
Hello @smitaprakash, Why did your News agency delete the tweet showing Rats roaming around inside a patient ward in Govt hospital in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh?
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) January 14, 2026
You instead shared a clarification by Superintendent of the hospital pic.twitter.com/9rZWSDt7Yc https://t.co/Bc3SarJJ8H
#WATCH | Gonda | On viral video showing rats roaming in hospital, Dr DN Singh, Superintendent, Autonomous State Medical College & Babu Ishwar Sharan hospital, says, "We have constituted a committee, and on the basis of its report, we will take further action. The existing… pic.twitter.com/2JjP1Krc80
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026
Reacting to the development, a user @makhdoom_irfani wrote, “Journalism should question power, not protect it.”
Journalism should question power, not protect it.
— Makhdoom Irfani (@makhdoom_irfani) January 14, 2026
Many other users echoed similar concerns. Reacting to the post, one user commented, “clarification??? In which universe can rats in a hospital be clarified ..???”
“Today's journalism is shame!,” said another.
Another user drew a comparison with the National Medical Commission’s decision to shut down a medical college in Kashmir over an alleged overwhelming number of Muslim students admitted to medical courses. The user wrote, “The Medical Council will not cancel the licence of this college because not many Muslim students are studying here.”
The Medical council will not cancel the license of this college, because not many Muslim students are studying here.
— Zahur (@Zahur82446025) January 15, 2026
“Deleting evidence and posting a “clarification” doesn’t fix the problem. It only raises questions about credibility and selective journalism,” remarked another.
@ANI deleted the tweet showing Rats roaming around inside a patient ward in Govt hospital in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.
— Sanjay-সঞ্জয় (@BhaiOfTotla) January 15, 2026
pic.twitter.com/1zWwbK1HC8
What is the issue ?
The controversy began after a video showing rats moving freely inside the orthopaedic ward of Gonda Medical College surfaced on social media.
The video reportedly recorded two days before went viral across social media.
Following the circulation of the video, the district magistrate ordered an inquiry into the incident. According to a PTI report, anti-rodent medicines were sprayed across the wards as an immediate measure.
The principal of the medical college, responding to the incident, stated that food brought into hospital wards by attendants attracts rodents.
He added that medicines had been sprayed in all wards and claimed that rats were no longer visible, while assuring that the administration would not tolerate any negligence related to patient safety. A detailed investigation into the matter is currently underway.
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Dileep case: Advocate representing survivor alleges Judge favoured actor
Thiruvanthapuram: A month after Malayalam film Actor Dileep was acquitted in the the case pertaining to abduction and rape of a famous Malayalam actress, Advocate T B Mini, the survivor's counsel in the case has accussed the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese of favouring Actor Dileep in her petition to the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, reported On Manorama.
In her petition(accessed by Onmanorama), Mini has sought contempt of court proceedings against Honey Varghese alleging that the trial court judge made derisive remarks about her, including claims that she would doze off during court proceedings and was lax in handling the actress assault case.
Mini, who described the comments as false, contemptuous and defamatory, alleged in her petition that Honey Varghese had unduly favoured Dileep, the actor and producer who was the eighth accused in the case.
In the verdict delivered in December last year, Judge Honey Varghese acquitted Dileep and three other accused while sentencing six convicts to imprisonment.
The ruling drew major uproar, while Mini had refrained from making any public remarks against the judge at the time, stating only that the verdict was disappointing, now she has levelled serious allegations against the judge as the High Court is set to begin hearing the bail pleas filed by the six convicts on February 4.
Furthermore, Mini has stated in her petition that since the very first stage of the trial, the Judge Honey Varghese passed derogatory remarks against the survivor and behaved discourteously towards the prosecution, which eventually led to the resignation of two Special Public Prosecutors. According to Mini, the undue favour shown by Honey Varghese to Dileep resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice and brought disrepute to the judicial system.
She stated in the petition that it was a regular practice of Honey Varghese to pass derogatory comments about the survivor as well as the prosecution witnesses.
Mini also alleged that on several occasions, the Special Public Prosecutor was compelled to remind the judge that such conduct was in violation of the Supreme Court’s directions.
Mini also questioned the manner in which Honey Varghese conducted the inquiry into the illegal access of the memory card containing visuals of the sexual assault.
The memory card, a vital piece of evidence kept in the custody of the Sessions Court, was unlawfully accessed and tampered with, leading to a change in its hash value.
According to the report, an examination by the State Forensic Science Laboratory found that the card had been accessed on January 9, 2018, December 13, 2018, and July 19, 2021, while it was under the safe custody of different courts.
Mini stated in the petition that the memory card was illegally accessed for nearly half an hour in July 2021 while it was in the custody of the court presided over by Honey Varghese.
After the survivor approached the High Court citing a breach of privacy, the HC directed Honey Varghese to conduct an inquiry. Mini alleged that the judge carried out only a perfunctory inquiry, in violation of the High Court’s directions.
Mini has sought legal action against Honey Varghese, stating that when a lawyer is defamed in open court through false allegations, the judge is liable to face proceedings before the High Court. She noted in the petition that although she had a very limited role in the trial as the survivor’s counsel, she regularly attended the proceedings from November 2022 onward.
